Quick Answer
Before DSHS will license an adult family home, the house must pass a local building inspection against the WABO Adult Family Home Building Inspection Checklist. The checklist covers bedroom egress and classification, emergency escape windows, interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, ramps with a maximum 1:12 slope and handrails on both sides, bathroom grab bars and turning clearance, and fire access. Homes on septic must be approved by the local health authority for the number of residents, not bedrooms. A floor plan of every level goes with both the inspection and the DSHS application.
Most adult family homes start as ordinary single-family houses. Turning one into a licensed home means bringing it up to a code standard written for residents who may use wheelchairs, need help evacuating, or cannot manage stairs. The modifications — ramps, bathroom reconfiguration, window changes, alarm systems — are the largest and least predictable startup cost, and the inspection has to pass before DSHS will finish licensing.
Convert a home you own or buy (the most common path); build new to the checklist from the ground up; or buy an existing licensed home through a Change of Ownership. Buying an operating home means the building has already passed, but a new DSHS application and a fresh inspection are still required.
Ramps wherever egress has stairs; grab bars, turning radius, and accessible fixtures in bathrooms; egress windows sized for emergency exit in sleeping rooms; interconnected smoke and CO alarms and sometimes sprinklers; septic approval for occupancy count.
Download the checklist and walk your own property against it first. Contact your local building official early; requirements vary by jurisdiction. If construction is needed, pull a remodel permit and pass its final inspection before applying for the AFH building inspection permit. The inspector completes and signs the checklist, which you then submit with your DSHS license application.
No. The signed checklist proves the building meets code. DSHS separately decides whether the provider and the home qualify for a license, after its own inspection.
If any construction is involved — ramps, bathroom work, window changes, electrical — most jurisdictions require a remodel permit with a passed final inspection first. Then you apply for the AFH building inspection permit.
About the author: David Stein is a Washington State licensed real estate broker (eXp Realty, license #133972) and a Washington State certified residential appraiser (Stein Appraisal, license #1702080), with more than 20 years of experience in both disciplines. More about David.
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